July 28, 2007: On first day of freedom, Cianci back on Hill

The ex-mayor's electronic ankle bracelet was removed in the morning; by lunchtime he was at a favorite dining spot.

By Daniel BarbarisiJournal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE - Former Mayor Vincent A. "Buddy" Cianci Jr. celebrated his first day of freedom in nearly five years with Italian food on Federal Hill, lunching with longtime friends and business partners at one of his old hangouts, Joe Marzilli's Old Canteen.

Cianci did not speak with the media horde camped outside, instead sneaking out a side door to one of two cars waiting with their engines running. But his lawyer, Charles Mansolillo, said that Cianci will make the rounds at tonight's WaterFire, holding court much as he did when he was mayor.

"Needless to say it won't be low profile," Mansolillo said.

Cianci did not wear his famous hairpiece inside the restaurant, according to several Canteen patrons. Mansolillo said that Cianci has not decided whether to go bald full-time.

"I don't know if it's permanent or not. He's been used to not wearing it, obviously, when he was away. At this point, I know it's toupee or not toupee, but we'll see," Mansolillo said.

He left the Atwells Avenue restaurant wearing a Providence Journal baseball cap.

Cianci, 66, was released from federal prison in Fort Dix, N.J., on May 30 after serving nearly 4½ years on federal racketeering charges. Cianci was mayor of Providence from 1975 to 2002, with a six-year hiatus starting in 1984 after his guilty plea for assaulting Bristol contractor Raymond DeLeo.

After his May release from prison, he moved to Coolidge House, a halfway house in Boston, and shortly after took a job marketing The 903 Residences, a 330-unit condominium development behind the Providence Place mall partly owned by former Mayor Joseph R. Paolino Jr.

Cianci entered home confinement at the East Greenwich home of his nephew, Brad Turchetta, on June 20. He was fitted with an ankle bracelet to monitor his whereabouts, which he wore during the final six weeks of his sentence at Turchetta's home.

Turchetta drove Cianci to the Barnstable County sheriff's office on Cape Cod yesterday morning to have the device removed, before bringing him to Federal Hill for lunch.

"Bracelet cut off, looking great, feeling better," Turchetta said of his uncle as he left the lunch in his gray Lexus sport-utility vehicle. Barry J. Weiner, chief U.S. probation officer for Rhode Island, said late yesterday morning that while Cianci was free yesterday, his sentence technically ended at 12:01 a.m. today, at which point he becomes the responsibility of the probation office.

"Mr. Cianci's bracelet has been cut off. Just to confirm with you that his supervision with us begins at 12:01 a.m.," Weiner said.

Cianci must still serve two years of supervised release and perform 150 hours of community service.

He's also likely to take another job, and has long been rumored to be considering a return to radio. The mayor hosted a show on WHJJ radio after he resigned from office in 1984.

Cianci has made it clear in recent weeks that he is interested in returning to the airwaves, and various Rhode Island and Boston media have been angling for his services.

"He certainly is in the last stages of considering various options in the broadcast world," Mansolillo said. "It's likely to be here; although there have been discussions with Boston opportunities, it's likely to be here."

Mansolillo said that Cianci would probably make an announcement about his decision next week.

Yesterday, Cianci and his entourage of six sat at a window table in the small Canteen with the curtain drawn to avoid prying eyes on the street.

With him were Mansolillo, Turchetta and Turchetta's father, John, lawyer David Igliozzi, and Scott Millard, a former aide.

He dined on his favorite dish, Haddock Siciliana, according to owner Sal Marzilli, whose father, Joe, was a friend of Cianci's. Joe Marzilli died earlier this year.

"He said he wanted this to be the first place he went when he got back," Marzilli said.

The Old Canteen and its pink walls and scenes of Italy hold much history for Cianci. The restaurant has been a favorite of local politicians - and sometimes mobsters - since its opening in 1956, and Cianci's father used to bring Buddy there as a child.

In 1974, when Cianci was a well-known prosecutor considering his first run for mayor, he ran into then-mayor Joseph Doorley at lunch at the Canteen. Doorley called Cianci over, and mocked him, laughing at his belief that he might win. Cianci kept his cool, and reportedly said, "Mayor, you never know."

On the way out, Cianci told a companion he had made up his mind: he would run for mayor.

Federal Hill has always been a locus of Cianci support. Several onlookers curious about the media throng were excited to learn that Cianci had made his return.

Peter Perry, 82, who lives at Dominica Manor, next to the Old Canteen, stopped to rubberneck.

"Who's coming out - Bush?" asked Perry as he paused while riding past on his motorized wheelchair.

Informed that it was Buddy Cianci, Perry said, "I think he should run again. Too bad they couldn't erase his record, give him a fresh start."

Because of his felony conviction, Cianci cannot run for mayor again until the 2014 election, when he would be 73.

With reports from Journal Staff Writer Karen Lee Ziner

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